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Syria: Tragedy ‘at every step’ as millions of children face landmine threat – UNICEF
In Syria, landmines and other explosives left over from years of conflict present an ever more lethal threat to children, accounting for over 100 child deaths and injuries last month alone, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
Ricardo Pires, UNICEF Communication Manager for Emergencies, told journalists from Damascus that in the last nine years, at least 422,000 incidents involving unexploded ordnance – or UXO - were reported in 14 governorates across Syria, “with half estimated to have ended in tragic child casualties”.
“Girls and boys in the country continue to suffer the brutal impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO) at an alarming rate,” he explained.
The UNICEF official underscored that in December last year, 116 children were killed or injured by UXO, an average of nearly four per day – a likely underestimate “given the fluidity of the situation,” he told journalists in Geneva.
“It's the main cause of child casualties in Syria right now and has been for many years, and will continue to be,” with an estimated more than 300,000 mines still spread across the country.
The danger affects some five million children living in areas contaminated with the lethal explosives, Mr. Pires said, for whom “every step they take carries the risk of an unimaginable tragedy”.
Renewed displacement has aggravated the danger. Mr. Pires recalled that since 27 November, over a quarter of a million children were forced to flee their homes due to escalating conflict. For the displaced and those trying to return home, “the peril of UXO is constant and unavoidable”, he stressed.
The threat has only intensified since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December, as many weapons, including explosive weapons, have been left behind, in Homs but also in Damascus, Mr. Pires said.
He described the devastating effects of this legacy on inquisitive youngsters. “Even if children survive these blasts, the struggle doesn't end,” he said. “Life-changing injuries and disabilities often mean they cannot return to school or might find it harder to access proper health care.”
The UNICEF official called for increased humanitarian demining efforts, mine-risk education and support for survivors. He insisted that as part of discussions on reconstruction efforts supported by the international community, “it is imperative that immediate investment takes place to ensure the ground is safe and clear of explosives”.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder echoed that call, stressing that to fund demining, “we’re talking tens of millions of dollars… which would save thousands of lives” and help Syria regain its former status as a middle-income country.
“It is a very, very cheap price that needs to be paid,” he concluded.
-Ends-
STORY: Syria UXO risk UNICEF 14 January 2025
TRT: 2:20”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 14 JANUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley.
2. Wide shot: Speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, Communication Manager for Emergencies, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Over the past nine years, at least 422,000 incidents involving UXOs [unexploded ordnance] were reported in 14 governorates across Syria, with half estimated to have ended in tragic child casualties.”
4. Wide lateral shot: Journalists in the Press room; speaker on screens.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, Communication Manager for Emergencies, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “In December last year alone as well, 116 children were killed or injured by UXO, an average of nearly four per day. This is believed to be underestimated given the fluidity of the situation.”
6. Wide shot: Cameraperson and technicans’ booths in the Press room.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, Communication Manager for Emergencies, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “It's the main cause of child casualties in Syria right now and has been for many years, and will continue to be because the ground continues to be infested, infested and contaminated. Over 300,000 mines are still spread across the country.”
8. Wide lateral shot: Speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, Communication Manager for Emergencies, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Even if children survive these blasts, the struggle doesn't end. Life-changing injuries and disabilities often mean they cannot return to school or might find it harder to access proper health care.”
10. Wide lateral shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference from rear; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, Communication Manager for Emergencies, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Since 8 December, when the previous government fell, a lot of weapons have been left behind. A lot of explosive weapons or just weapons in general, in many areas, including in Homs, where I was, but also in Damascus.”
12. Wide lateral shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference from rear; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, Spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We're talking tens of millions of dollars, which, as we've just heard, would save thousands of lives and will be an absolutely imperative part if Syria is to again become a middle-income country. So, if you're talking about tens of millions of dollars as a major influence to help Syria regain that status it had as a middle-income country, then it is a very, a very cheap price that needs to be paid.”
14. Various shots of journalists in the Press room.
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